Our new chicks

On Wednesday I was feeding our hen who is sitting on eggs. When I looked up I saw the head of a little chick poking out from under her wing. I ran and told Eve. When we lifted her up to get the chick out there was another one. Debbie was so excited. We didn't think that the chicks would hatch because we don't have fully grown roosters to fertilize the eggs. We named the chicks Sweet Pea and Daisy.

Sweet Pea and DaisySweet Pea

Sweet Pea

Marie

County Fair 4H Show

This poor neglected blog. We've had some things we've wanted to post and just have not had the time to do it. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up in the next few days.

Last weekend the girls had their 4H Poultry Show. It was a culmination of their summer long 4H meetings where they learned all about chickens and how to handle them. It's a good thing they have a great 4H leader because their city girl mama sure doesn't know anything about chickens or even how to hold them.

Abby with her Blue Andalusian "Dawn"

It was Abby's first year participating. She is a Cloverbud (those are about 7-9 years old). She was extremely nervous before it was her turn. her hands were shaking, her chin was quivering and she looked very, very pale. We were worried she was going to pass out or something. Nope! Abby got up there in front of the judge and did a really good job. Whew! She was mostly worried her bird would fly away and she'd have to chase it all over the animal barn.

Sara posing her Blue Andalusian "Lemon Drop" for the judge.

Sara and Marie both participated in the Junior class. They did 4H last year so are old pros. :) Marie ended up winning Grand Champion and Sara won Reserve Champion! Marie showing the width of the breast on her Americana "Judy"

Because Marie won Grand Champion she had to compete with the Grand Champion winner of the other small animals, cavy and rabbit for a Round Robin event. They each have three minutes to show each animal to the appropriate judge. This year there weren't any cavys (cavies?) so she just had to show a rabbit and chicken. She won grand champion for the round robin too! And if that wasn't enough both of her chickens won Grand Champion and Reserve Champion for best of the heavy breeds. Sara, S the 4H leader, Marie with their ribbons.

Stop Badgering Us

Joseph's journal entry for Saturday, September 15, 2007:

"This evening as I was studying for my lesson for tomorrow I looked out the window to see a badger chasing the chickens. I ran for my gun, Montse ran for her camera, the girls ran to the window. I got my 22-250 [rifle] before Montse got her 'Canon.' "

That's right, folks. There was a badger only 20 yards outside our door, right by the swing set where the little girls had been playing only 10 minutes before. These things can be fierce! Think a walking rug that's as mean as a bear. I didn't get my picture, Joseph is very fast with a gun. :D This one came from Google Images.

Branding Calves

Ammon hops over the fence to help Darren separate a calf . . .

. . .to send into the chute.

Ammon hooks the calf's nose while Joseph prepares to immunize the calf.

Jacob trims the ears while Ammon holds the calf's head steady. Obviously this is a different calf then the previous photo.

The calf gets branded with our 'Flying W'...

...while the air fills with the scent of burning hair. And what do the calves think of all this?

Some make a little noise.

Others bawl a whole lot.

And some just can't wait for it all to be over.

Don't worry Ira, we only do this to cows.

The farm kids all watch from the safety of the truck...

...because we're in the same section as the mamas

who don't like what we're doing to their babies.

I can't forget the good ol' cow dog Flint

who likes to pick up after the branding

calf ears, yummo!

Beginner's Luck

Eve and Marie showed their chickens for 4H at our Tri-County Fair last Saturday. We've never participated in 4H before so we really didn't know what to expect. Competition started at 8:00 am with Cloverbuds showing their chickens. Then Marie's Junior group showed their's and then Eve's Intermediate group. Here they are anxiously awaiting their turn with their friend Megan. Most of the other competitors were wisely off looking at exhibits or showing other animals. Like I said, we didn't know what to expect so Marie had to wait an hour and a half before presenting her chicken. Eve had to wait three hours!

Marie presents her chicken Dove to the judge.

To present their chicken to a judge the participants talk about each part of their chicken in great detail - how the wattles , earlobes and comb look, count their primary and secondary feathers, check their vents and then walk the birds. The judge will ask questions throughout about the breed of chicken, what different terms mean, etc. I'd really be flustered if I had to do something like that.

Eve bonds with her rooster 'Prince Pete the Pathetic'

The kids have to get their chicken and hold it when there are still two people ahead of them in 'line' then wait patiently until the judge calls their name. Eve was extremely nervous. One fellow, who was there to watch his brother compete, asked her if she wanted to win. She said no. He told her not to worry about it then, to act natural and just have fun. She took his advice and was very straightforward with the judge. If she didn't know the answer to one of his questions she just looked him right in the eye and said, "I don't know." She was still relieved when it was all over.

Then came the time came for the judge to announce the champions. Marie and Eve both won Grand Champions for their division!! It was really funny, especially to watch Eve's reaction. She really didn't want to win. While everyone clapped for her she groaned and put her head in he hands.

After that the judge had to look at all the chickens and judge them on quality. And guess what? The girls swept the competition again!

Marie's chicken, Dove, a Belgian Bearded D'Uccle breed and porcelain variety, won the grand champion bantam.

While another of Eve's birds, Titus, (Belgian D'Uccle breed also) won the Reserve Grand Champion.
And not wanting to be left out, here's Sara holding my Barred Cochin, Bengal.

Raking Hay

Edited to add the photohunt sticky button. These qualify for this week's theme of ROW.

Depending on the weather - heat, moisture, etc. - the hay is raked anywhere from one to five days (or more) after it's swathed. While swathing is done during the daytime hours, raking has to be done when there is the right amount of dew on the hay. If it's too dry the leaves (where all the nutrients are) fall off. The rakers have been getting up at 4:30 each morning and usually get done about 8:30. Half-a-day's work is done before breakfast!Two rows of swathed hay are rolled together to make a windrow. This is Eve's first year of raking. Doesn't get much better than this for an eleven year old! Just a close-up of the rake rolling the hay.

Couldn't resist this shot with the dry, barren, beige mountains in the background.

Swathing Hay

We started swathing third crop last week. Hay is like your lawn, it keeps growing after you cut it. We usually get about 4 crops (cuttings) a year.This is the pivot closest to our house. Joseph is running the swather.

I know he's just rolling his eyes at me while I crouch low to take these shots.
This spring we had a few fawns and baby antelope that met their doom when they came face to face with the swathing blades. They'd hide in the hay. If they were seen in time they were picked up and moved to a safer location. But, unfortunately, sometimes they hid too well.The view off our deck of the swathed hay. You can see the haystacks for the first two crops.

Here's the pivot itself. See those haystacks in the background? Those are the same ones in the previous photo. You couldn't tell there were more than two stacks could you?

This, That and the Other

I've taken a break from blogging for several days to get my house in order. I had to rearrange school books on my shelves to fit new ones that have come. I've slowly been decluttering each room in the house. I can't believe how much JUNK we accumulate.

Our air conditioner also went kaput on July 4th, just in time for the record breaking temperatures we've been having. It's hotter than hades around here! We have to install a whole new system including the furnace. Joseph spent all day Thursday trying to put in a swamp cooler so at least we can be semi-cool in part of the house. The problem he was having were our windows. Every single one is too narrow. He finally had to take one out and then rip the molding around it out too so the cooler just fits. While he was measuring the windows Debbie asked, "How come your inching the window, Dad?" It was very cute.

We've also been trying to deal with a small infestation of windscorpions in the downstairs rooms. We've found four but believe me when I say one is too many. They aren't poisonous but they sure are gross looking.

Second crop is officially underway in a big way. Joseph got up at 2:00 am this morning and baled fifteen hours straight - one pivot in alfalfa hay and the rest in wheat hay. Darren and Jacob also baled when their balers were working. Benjamin, Ammon and Sylvia raked last night and then Nathan and his boys, Jared and Jesse, took a shift and raked early this morning. Those that were available helped haul the hay in the afternoon. They didn't quit working until about 8:00 pm. That's one long day. Tomorrow starts bright and early at 3:00am. Who wants to be a farmer?

Photo Hunt - Shoes

This week's Photo Hunt theme is shoes. Shoes? How do you make a picture of shoes interesting? I was at a loss until I saw my daughters out grooming their horse yesterday. Despite all the eye-rolling I got and mumbled whispers of "Mom is so weird!" I persevered in getting these.Boots. The shoe of choice for any farmer, rancher, or cowgirl wannabe.